Namikaze Naru
by kenkao.inukags
Summary: what if naruto was a girl? and what if she found out about her heritage at a young age? how would the story be different?
1. Chapter 1

A young girl of 7 years old was running through the streets of Konoha trying desperately to get away from the mob of angry villagers, the angry eyes, the cold taunts. Unfortunately for the young girl, she took a wrong turn and ended up in a dead end and before she could get out the villagers were already blocking the exit. She backed up into the wall, desperately wishing that it would disappear so she could run. A man stepped forward and sneered, '' look what we've got here boys, it's the demon brat. What do you say we have ourselves a little fun?'' They all laughed. He stepped forward and hit her across the face, as she fell she hit her head and fell unconscious, the man laughed. However, before he could hit her again, the hokage and three of his ANBU appeared. Sarutobi walked up to the man and hit him across the face, '' how does that feel?'' he said in a sickly sweet voice, '' you are coming to the tower with me young man, the rest of you had better leave before my ANBU get angry.'' he said to the rest of the crowd. Everyone left as soon as possible,except for the man who hit the young girl. Sarutobi bent down and picked her up, '' come on, lets get going.'' he said. He walked over and picked the young girl up, '' Naru, are you still with us?'' he asked. The young girl, now known as Naru, started moving and eventually opened her eyes.

'' ITAI!!'' she yelled, '' ojiji... where..what..'' she started to cry and buried herself into the hokages chest. '' Why do they hate me?'' she asked after a while, '' I never did anything to them.'' Sarutobi looked down, '' there are some things that need to be explained to you Naru, I believe you are ready to know.''

They arrived in the Hokage tower a few minuets later. Sarutobi sent the man who hit Naru to ibiki while he sat down with Naru. ''I ask you to let me finish before you ask any questions, alright. ''

'' okay ojiji.''

'' You have been lied to in a sense, Naru, how much do you know about the Kyuubi No Kitsune and how it was defeated?'' Sarutobi asked. Naru looked confused, '' it attacked and the Yondaime sacrificed himself to kill it, but what does the fox have to do with being lied to?'' she asked. Sarutobi smiled, ' she's smarter than she gives herself credit for.'

'' well, the kyuubi was never killed. In face, it is impossible for a human to kill a demon. The kyuubi was sealed into a new born baby girl, that baby girl was you Naru. They Yondaime hokage sealed the kyuubi no kitsune into you. The seal was designed to make you a sort of prison. You are no the demon, but many people are ignorant and look at you as if you are.''

Naru looked down, '' is that why the villagers hate me?'' she whispered.

'' yes, but that is not all of the explanation. The Yondaime did not pick you at random to be the vessel for the fox. He knew only someone of strong blood could contain the fox. The Namikaze kekkei genkai allows the body to put up with immense stress, and sealing the fox did, in fact, put immense stress on your body. He picked you, because you are the last of the Namikaze clan, the daughter of the Yondaime hokage.''

Minato wanted me to give you this between the ages of 6 and 9.'' He pulled out a scroll and handed it to Naru. She noticed the seal and looked up at Sarutobi. '' ojiji, how do I open this?''

'' bite your thumb and spread the blood on the seal, then it will open.'' She did as she was told and to her surprise, it did just that.

_To my dearest Naru,_

_I am truly sorry for the hard life you must have had until now. I am also sorry that I have not been there for you. In case Sarutobi did not explain your heritage, I am your father, Namikaze Minato. I sealed the Kyuubi no Kitsune into you at the cost of my life. I wanted you to be seen as a hero, but I am not naive and I am sure they will not see you as such. I just want to stress the fact that you ARE NOT the demon fox, just its jailer. Now, I know you have my kekkei genkai. This allows an abnormal amount of stress to be put on the body without harming it. Many of my personal jutsu were impossible to use unless you were a namikaze, for example, the Hirashin no Jutsu is impossible to use for anyone but yourself at the moment. Your mother, Uzumaki Kushina, had a kekkei genkai as well. She was able to control all five elements easily, they were all her affinity. It is possible that you will have this ability as well. _

_The keys to the estate are sealed in another blood seal at the bottom of this scroll. Inside the estate, you will find my personal library, which is now yours. It is protected by another blood seal. There are scrolls in the library consisting of everything from jutsu to history. All the jutsu scrolls are sealed with a special seal that will not allow you to open them until you have achieved the chakra control needed for that jutsu. Ask Sarutobi for some chakra control exercises that will help you. Everything that was once mine is now yours._

_I ask that you do not change your name or outright claim your heritage until you reach the rank of chuunin. I have made many enemies and I do not wish for you to be in danger because of who you are. Your mother and I love you, and we always will. I apologize for not being there to watch you grow, but I hope it does not affect the way you look at life negatively. _

_With love,_

_Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage, Your father. _

Naru looked down at the blood seal and bit her thumb. When she rubbed the seal, a pair of keys popped out of the scroll. '' Will you take me to my house ojiji?'' she asked, '' you may read this if you want.'' she smiled up at him. The hokage took the letter and read it. '' come on lets go, and I'll teach you a few chakra control exercises, when you need more just come and ask me. I know about 7 of them, if you master them all now only will you have nearly perfect control, but you'll have very large reserves of chakra.''

Sarutobi took Naru to the northern section of Konoha, closest to the Hokage monument, where all the richest clans resided. He walked by the hyuuga compound and did a few hand seals, he muttered kai and the genjutsu disguising the Namikaze estate was lifted, leaving a very large white and sea foam green house. There were several different training grounds, each specific to a different element. There were also training grounds for weaponry and physical training. Inside the house was stunning. Not too many possessions, furniture and other needed accessories, but nothing that was not needed. There were three floors, the bottom had the kitchen and living room, along with several bathrooms and a formal dining area. the second level had a huge library behind a single door with a blood seal. The library was vast, larger than the hokage library. Naru found a special cupboard with another blood seal, and once she unsealed it, she found an over sized scroll labeled ' family jutsu' which she vowed to look at later. The top floor was bedrooms, the master bedroom, which easily took up half of the floor, along with three guest bedrooms, large in their own sense.

When Naru and Sarutobi finished looking around the place, they went into the backyard to the physical training area, there were trees, wooden stumps, a dirt track that went up and down hills, a climbing rock, along with a small lake. Sarutobi walked up to a tree and started explaining the tree climbing exercise. '' first, you channel chakra to the bottom of your feet, technically, if you can do this you can channel chakra anywhere due to the fact that it's hardest to channel to your feet. Once you have accomplished that, put your foot on the tree, then your other foot, and walk up. If you don't use enough chakra, you'll fall off, but if you use too much, you'll be repelled. Once you can make your way up and down the tree ten times without falling, you can move on to water walking. By releasing a steady flow from your feet which you can adjust to differences in the water, you gain a valuable skill along with helping your control. I want you to practice this so much that it becomes second nature to you. Now, once you have perfected these two techniques, come to my office and I will give you another exercise. However, I have to get back to work now.'' Sarutobi explained.

Once the hokage left, Naru decided to go check out the master bedroom. When she got there, she found that the closet was still FULL of cloths, ranging in size from very small to very large, ' I wonder if these were okaa-sans cloths.' she thought to herself. After looking for a while, she settled on a pair of black shinobi sandals, black spandex shorts that went down to her mid/lower thigh, a dark blue kunoichi skirt that reached down to about mid/high thigh with slits that reached up to one inch from the waste band to ensure easy movement. She wore a black tank top and reached about one inch over her skirt. She wore her hair in a high pony tail with her bangs parted to the side. (like ino, except some hair falls on the other side as well) She topped the entire ensemble off with black fingerless gloves and a three quarter inch vest that reached down to mid stomach. After she changed out of the rags she had bought for WAY too much money in her opinion, she went to the library and did a bit up light reading on chakra control and a bit about the history of konoha.

The next day Naru woke up and made her way to the physical training grounds once again to practice tree climbing. She focused the chakra, put her feet on the tree, and fell off after two steps. '' Damn tree...'' she muttered as she tried again. This time, she used too much and was pushed, rather forcefully, off the tree. She threw the tree the hardest glare she could muster and tried yet again. This time around was more fruitful, she managed to make it nearly halfway up the tree. For the next few hours she practiced this until she finally made it up to the top of the tree. 'Now I have to go up and down ten times... shouldn't be too difficult.''

Oh how wrong she was, the first time she managed to get four times up and down before she fell off, she cursed under her breath and tried again. Six times, she made it six times this time, then fell off, landing rather unceremoniously on her head. After nearly another hour of practice she managed to go nine times without falling, and that went on for fifteen minuets until she FINALLY got ten in a row. '' YATTA!'' she yelled, '' now onto water walking.'' As she began to make her way to the lake, she collapsed, '' maybe, I'll wait until tomorrow.'' she muttered as she dragged herself to the kitchen.

The next day she felt as good as new, and began to learn to walk on water. After an hour, a very wet naru was able to run around on the surface of the water, she could even jump. But it still didn't feel like second nature, so she needed to work on that. She stayed on the lake for the entire day and by the end decided that she it still didn't feel like second nature.

For the rest of the week she ran up and down the tree ten times, then spent the rest of her time on the lake. Eventually, the tree became tremendously easy, and walking on water was second nature, she didn't even have to think about it, her body responded to it automatically. ' Maybe I can open a jutsu, I'll start with the C rank ones.' she thought as she ran into the library. When she got to the pile ranked ' C ' she picked up the first scroll. '' Kage Bunshin no Jutsu?'' she read, ' might as well see what it says.' She thought as she channeled chakra into it. When it opened, a note from her father fell out of it.

_Naru,_

_This jutsu is actually an A rank, but i figured you'd have enough chakra to use it all the time, and now you have the control. You can virtually make any number of these clones and not die or become overly tired because of your 'tenant' if you catch my drift. _

_with love, _

_minato_

Naru was excited, '' AN A RANK! '' she immediately started reading the scroll, and after looking it over a few times decided to attempt it. Her attempt was, well, perfect. She managed to make 20 solid clones. She read as a side note that they are excellent for training due to the fact that anything the bunshin learns in passed back to the original when they disperse. But it wouldn't work with physical stuff, like speed and strength, so she'd just have to go about that the old fashioned way, which she didn't mind. After practicing it a couple more times, she moved onto another scroll, the fuuton: koku kaze no jutsu. (cutting wind). ' It says here it needs fans to use it, so I guess I'll look though the weapon storage.' she thought as she grabbed the scroll and walked across the room to another cupboard. She swiped her blood across the seal and an entire arsenal of weapons fell out, including what she was looking for, a pair of razor edged metallic fans. The alloy used to make them is light weight, but extremely sturdy, and the edges, as she found out, will cut you without added pressure, ' good for long range and close range fighting.' She looked them over and noticed how beautiful they were, dark blue with three black swirls, ' they go with my outfit' she thought as she closed up the two fans and put them in her weapons pouch.

She opened the scrolls up and began to read. After reading the scroll a few times she decided to try the jutsu, so she left the library, scroll and fans on her person, and left for one of the elemental training grounds. She faced three wooden training posts, pulled fans out of her weapons pouch and, keeping them closed, did the three hand seals required, then she opened the fans with grace a beginner shouldn't posses, and called out her jutsu, '' fuuton: koku kaze no jutsu!'' she yelled and waved the fans in front of her. To her surprise, two gusts of visible wind shot out and cut the wooden training posts in half. She practiced until she could wave the fans a total of three times before having to do the seals again, producing six shots of cutting wind at a time. ' I've gotta who ojiji this!' she thought as she put the fans away. She went inside and made herself something small to eat, then went to the hokage tower.

Luckily, when she arrived the secretary that liked her was on duty.

'' Well hello Naru-chan, are you here to see the hokage?'' she asked.

'' Hai, Tsumi-chan, is it alright if I see him?'' she asked.

'' Of coarse, he'll be delighted. '' Tsume answered. They walked a short distance and made it to the hokages door. '' Just knock and he'll come answer. By sweetheart.'' she said as she turned around. Naru knocked on the door, then came in without waiting for an answer.

The hokage heard the knock and quickly put his little orange book away just in time to see Naru walk through the door with a smile plastered on her face.

He smiled, '' I take it you mastered the exercises, and you seem to have a new wardrobe, a fitting choice for a kunoichi.'' she smiled and nodded, '' but thats not all, I learned two new jutsu from the scrolls in my tou-sans library. I picked two from the C rank, although one is actually an A rank, but he said that I can use it because of my vast amounts of chakra. It's the Kage Bunshin, watch!'' she said as she put her hands in the cross seal and said the jutsu, '' Ninpou: kage bunshin no jutsu!'' and in a poof of smoke there were six naru's in the room, each of them solid. '' Tou-san scribbled a little note in the scroll as well, apparently, they can be used for training because all of the information is sent back to the original when they dispel themselves, I can learn jutsu faster if I use this!'' she smiled happily, '' The other one is a fuuton jutsu that requires the use of fans, and I found some pretty nice ones in the weapon storage cupboard. '' she explained as she pulled said fans out and handed one to the hokage, '' I can get six bursts of wind before I have to perform the seals again, but I shouldn't show you this one in here, I don't want to break anything.'' she smiled sheepishly. Sarutobi was gawking at the handiwork of the fan he held in his hands. the top was so sharp, good for close range, yet it also magnifies wind chakra, making it both a close range and a long range weapon, truly a work of art. He handed the fan back to naru and smiled, '' lets go to the academy grounds and you can show me this jutsu, I also have decided to enroll you in the second year class, since you already have beyond first year level understanding. You will begin class tomorrow, with Umino Iruka.'' he said as he go up.

When they got to the training grounds naru pulled out her fans, did the three seals, and opened her fans with the same grace as the first time. Sarutobi was astounded, she handled the fans like an expert. What shocked him even more was the control she had over the jutsu itself. she as able to cut the tops off of all of the training posts, in nearly the exact same places, making it look like they were never cut at all. '' I didn't want to cut too much off, then they'd have to replace them and I'd feel bad.'' she grinned and rubbed the back of her hair.

'' Well, since your training is going so well, and to celebrate your entering the academy, how about I take you out for dinner, I know this very good little stand that sells ramen, the owner is quite the cook and I'm sure you'll enjoy the food. '' he said. she smiled and nodded.

After Naru's 6th bowl, Sarutobi thought it might have been a mistake to bring her here... she seemed to like the ramen a little too much, but that was okay. He cut her off after the sixth bowl and said his goodbyes and told her to make her way back home safely. She did just that, or at least tried to.

On her way back to the estate, she passed a bar filled to the brim with drunken men. She scurried past as fast as she could, but wasn't quite fast enough.

'' hey boys, look its the demon girl, and look she's all alone. Lets go keep her company shall we.'' he yelled and all at once the entire bar seemed to empty. Naru panicked and started to run. She didn't really have any taijutsu skills, and she couldn't use her jutsu one them, koku kaze no jutsu could kill someone, so her only option was to try and lose them using the kage bunshin. She ran into an ally way and whispered her jutsu, then she sent the kage bunshin out of the ally and hid behind a box. Luckily for her, it worked, and she was able to avoid the drunken villagers.

Sarutobi was watching through his crystal ball and smiled at the cunning Naru had, but scowled at the villagers behavior. Just before one of them destroyed the bunshin she had created, he poofed in to it's rescue. '' You all will be spending some quality time with Morino Ibiki, and if I see you harass this young girl again it will be execution, there is no reason to attack a fellow villager. '' when he finished the ANBU came in and did a genjutsu, putting the entire group asleep and began transporting them to the torture and investigations unit of the ANBU headquarters. He hokage then dispelled the bunshin and poofed to where Naru was hiding. '' It's alright Naru, I've sent the men to see Ibiki, you're free to go home now.'' he smiled at her. she looked up and smiled as well. Sarutobi grabbed her and poofed to the front of her house, waved, then poofed back to his office.

Naru woke up early the next morning, performed her morning ritual, got dressed in the same outfit as the day prior, and made her way to the Academy. When she arrived, she saw the hokage talking to a man with a chuunin vest and scar on his nose. '' hey ojiji!'' she yelled out to him, '' I start today, right?'' He smiled back at her and nodded, '' Naru, this is your instructor, Umino Iruka, i expect you to be on your best behavior.'' he said, '' now come here, there is something I need to talk with you about.'' naru nodded and followed the hokage.

'' You remember you father saying that you shouldn't claim your heritage until your a chuunin, correct?'' she nodded and he continued.'' good, from now until you become a chuunin you will go by Uzumaki Naru. '' she nodded again. '' good luck today. '' he said as he pushed her towards Iruka. '' ojiji, he's not gonna me mean to me, is he?'' she asked quietly, a worried look on her face. The hokage was appalled, ' this girl should not have to worry about such things.' he thought heatedly. He calmed himself down and smiled, '' don't worry Naru, he knows your not the fox, he will be kind to you.'' she smiled and nodded, then bounded off towards to academy. ' she'll be a fine kunoichi.' he thought to himself before he poofed to his tower.

Naru walked into the classroom and decided to take a seat in the top corner, ' no one is there, and I don't want to make a scene.' she thought as she sat down. A few minuets later a boy with raven colored hair and deep black eyes walked into the room. He scowled upon noticing her, but made his way up and to a seat one away from her own. She looked over at him and smiled. ' he must be and Uchiha.' she thought as she looked at his features, ' He must be the one who survived the massacre... kuso.. I forgot his name.'

'' Hello, I'm Uzumaki Naru, it's nice to meet you.. uh...'' she smiled and rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, '' whats your name?'' The boy looked surprised, but answered none the less. '' Uchiha Sasuke.'' he said in a monotone voice. Naru shuddered, ' not a people person eh.' she thought as she saw him brooding. Shrugging, she decided to focus her attention on the door once again to watch for the rest of the students. She saw a boy with a dog on his head, a girl with pale lavender eyes, and another boy with a trench coat and sunglasses walk in. '' an Inuzuka, a Hyuuga, and an Aburame.. there are a lot of clan members in the class.'' She was pulled out of her thoughts as she noticed two girls, one with blonde hair and pale blue eyes and another with pink hair and green eyes. '' The blonde is a Yamanaka, but I don't know about the pink haired girl...' she trailed off as she heard them start screeching and making their way up.

'' SASUKE-KUN!!'' they yelled out as they tried to make it to the empty seat by Sasuke first. The pink haired girl made it first, '' hey Sasuke kun, wanna to out on a date with me?'' she asked.

'' Ha! dram on forhead!'' the yamanaka said, '' there's no way he would go out with you Sakura, not when he has me.'' she smirked.

'' shut up Ino pig!'' she yelled back.

'' Face it, he wants nothing to do with the lowly Haruno clan, you'd be the first shinobi in three generations if you graduate! where as my father and mother, along with my grandparents were/are all jounin!'' she bragged.

' Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino huh.' Naru thought to herself, ' they're a bit.. loud' she thought as she watched and listened to them bicker.

'' Uh, excuse me, uh Sakura and Ino, but... aren't shinobi supposed to specialize in being _quiet_?'' she said. Sasuke had to contain a laugh as he thought of how ironically funny that really was. Ino looked like she was going to explode, '' I'm plenty quiet, if it wasn't for stupid forehead here I would be the quietest in the class.'' she huffed and left to sit down. Sakura followed soon after.

'' ALRIGHT SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!'' Iruka yelled as he entered the class. '' we have a new student today, Uzumaki Naru, would you come down and introduce yourself?'' Naru stood up and walked to the front of the class. '' Hello, I'm Uzumaki Naru, uh, I like to train and eat ramen... I also like to spend time with ojiji, he's really nice and that about it...'' she said as she made her way back up to the corner she was sitting at before.

'' Okay class, today we're going to do a practical exam. We'll practice some jutsu, target practice, and some taijutsu sparring. Lets go to the training fields. '' Iruka said as everyone filed out of the classroom to the training grounds. '' Does anyone know any jutsu? Like family or just some you've learned?'' Iruka asked. Naru, Sasuke, Ino, Kiba, and Shikamaru all raised their hands. '' Okay, why don't you all show me the jutsu you know. Naru, you can go first if you would like to.'' she nodded and stepped forward. First, she decided to perform the kage bunshin. She put her hands in the cross seal and said her jutsu. '' Ninpo: kage bunshin no jutsu'' and with a poof, four solid clones appeared. '' Naru! thats incredible, thats an A rank jutsu!'' Iruka said in disbelief. '' Well, I have an abnormal amount of chakra, my reserves are quite large, so I can use this jutsu, in fact, me and ojiji tried it and I cannot perform a normal bunshin.'' she smiled sheepishly, '' it comes out all sickly looking.'' Before anyone could say anything, she took out a pair of metallic fans and performed a few seals, then said the name of her other jutsu, '' Fuuton: Koku Kaze no jutsu!'' she waved the fans three times, making six visible wind blades and each of them cut off another layer of the training posts. she then closed her fans and made her way back into the crowd. '' that was a great display, okay now, Uchiha Sasuke, your up.'' Sasuke walked up and did a Gokakyuu no jutsu, and it was rather large. Kiba and Akamaru did a man beast bunshin, shino displayed one of his bug bunshin shikamaru froze iruka in place with a Kagemane no jutsu, and Ino showed off her mind transfer jutsu. After that, everyone worked on the henge no jutsu for an hour. Naru found this jutsu to be EXTREMELY easy, and mastered it within 15 minuets. After their jutsu lessons, they worked on target practice. Each student was required to throw five kunai and shurikan and try to hit the targets on the dummy. Out of the ten Naru threw, 7 of them hit the targets, while the other three came close. She did better than most of the other kids, but a few did better than her. Sasuke hit 8 targets and Hinata hit 9 of them. When everyone had taken their turn, Iruka set up the sparring matches after going over the basics for the academy taijutsu. Naru picked it up quickly enough, and was even able to defeat a few people, Sakura and Chouji. She lost to Shikamaru however, he was just too good at strategy.

When class was over she went back to the hokage tower, she needed those news chakra control exercises. When she arrived she was escorted to the hokage's office and she, of coarse, just went right in.

'' Hey ojiji! I need some more chakra control exercises... I finished the ones you gave me yesterday.'' She said with a smiled. Sarutobi nodded and took out a scroll. '' This has all of the chakra control exercises I know, do them one at a time and in this order, but make sure you practice your tree climbing and water walking, they'll still help to build up our reserves. Now, how was your first day at the academy?''

Naru smiled and got right into it. '' We did some practical exams today. I learned the henge no jutsu as well. We also did some target practice and I hit seven out of the ten targets, Hyuuga Hinata hit nine though, she got the best score. Then we did some light sparring, I learned the academy style. I won against Sakura and Chouji, but Shikamaru used a different style, probably his family style, and he beat me. I want to learn a different style, I found it in a scroll in my library. It's called the Senkou Kabushi, (flash fist) and it goes with my tou-sans blood line since it requires me to move very quickly. I just need to condition my body, can you help me?''

'' I cannot help you, but I do know someone who can. Maito Gai, he just failed his hopeful group of three, so they went back to the academy. He'll have some time to spare. I'll call him up here to see if we can work something out.'' (**remember, neji, lee, and tenten are only a year older than team seven, naru's only seven right now)** Naru sat in the chair and waited for a few minuets, then something came flying into the room, a big green something.

'' I AM MAITO GAI!! The Roaring Green Beast of Konoha. '' He announced himself. Naru sweat dropped, '' Uh, I'm Uzumaki Naru, it's nice to meet you. '' she said, still unsure about Gai's sanity. Sarutobi coughed, '' Gai, I was wondering if you would help this young girl develop her speed and strength so she can use her family taijutsu, the Senkou Kabushi. Gai did a double take and stared at Naru, '' Yes, Gai, she is his daughter, but it cannot be common knowledge yet, I trust you can keep a secret?'' The hokage asked. Gai bowed, '' of coarse, hokage sama. '' Then he smiled and did the good guy pose, '' By the end of your time in the academy you'll be able to utilize the Senkou Kabushi in battle, I, Maito Gai, swear it.'' he smiled, '' or I will run 50 laps around Konoha on my hands.'' Naru sweat dropped again, but was excited none the less.

'' When do we start?'' she asked with fire in her eye.

'' YOSH! YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH BURN BRIGHT! we'll start tomorrow at 5 AM. we'll have a three hour session before your lessons at the academy begin. I'll introduce you to weights in a month. Get lots of reset, for tomorrow, we begin! YOSH!''

He then ran out of the hokage's office at the same speed which he entered. '' Thats not even his fastest.'' Sarutobi chuckled. Naru sweat dropped again, '' Why is he... so... weird?'' she asked. The hokage shrugged. '' I couldn't tell you.''

Naru left soon after and practiced her chakra control and jutsu. The new exercise she was learning was, to say the least, difficult. She had to put a leaf in the palm of her hand and make it levitate using chakra. If she used too much, it would go flying, if she used to little, nothing would happen. It took roughly 6 hours for her to get it right. Her fuuton jutsu, kaku kaze no jutsu, was coming along nicely. Now that she was able to produce a good amount of wind blades, she started working on the size and sharpness of the individual blades. Naru practiced her kage bunshin as well and can now produce nearly 50 easily.

She woke up around 4:30 A.M. and did her morning ritual. She left her house around 4:45 and got to the training ground at exactly 5:00. She was greeted by the ever happy Gai.

'' YOSH! your flames of youth burn brightly even at 5 in the morning, come let us begin.'' He said happily. They started off with a 'light' jog, ' light?!' naru thought to herself as she ran. She had been running for nearly 25 minuets and Gai showed no signs of stopping. After 30 minuets of straight running, Gai stopped back at the wooden posts in the training field. '' We will run every morning. We'll run for longer as the training progresses. Now, I want you to kick the post 50 times with each leg and punch it 50 times with each fist. This too will increase with time. After you have completed that, I want 300 crunches and 50 push-ups. Come to me after you finish your warm up and we'll look at the scroll for the Senkou Kabushi. I am not a practitioner of it myself, but I sparred with your father many times and believe I will be capable of teaching it to you.''

Naru finished her warm up around 6:45 and went to see Gai for the first few katas of the Senkou Kabushi. Gai read the scroll and started to teach. She soaked it up like a sponge, her speed already being greater than most her age. ' Looks like she has his bloodline alright' he thought to himself as he watched her move, ' has all the grace of a speedster.' he chuckled mentally. '' Yosh! Naru you most definitely have your fathers kekkei genkai! '' Naru smiled at this.

They stopped around 7:45 in order to give Naru time to make it to the academy. She had managed to learn 3 of the beginner kata, but they were by no means perfect. She was still a little too slow and some of her moves were sloppy, but that would get better with time. Gai told her to practice at home and that he expected to see the results of that practice by tomorrows session. Naru would not disappoint him either. So she dragged her aching body to the academy for, she was hoping, a day out of the book.

To naru's delight, Iruka announced at the beginning of class that they would be reviewing history that day. Naru nearly cheered when she heard this.

Five years later, it was graduation week. Naru, 12 now, was only four days away from becoming a genin. She had grown exponentially since she learned about her heritage. She had learned 10 jutsu total, ranging from C to A, most were B rank however. She had perfected 5 jutsu, the kage bunshin, the fuuton: koku kaze no jutsu, the fuuton: Diotoppa no jutsu, the Katon:Gokakyuu no jutsu, Suiton: mizu tama no jutsu. The other five were not perfected, but were still usable in battle. Katon: karyuu endan, Katon: housenka no jutsu, Suiton: suriyuudan no jutsu, Doton: naiteki funkei no jutsu and Raiton: dendou shingai. She had mastered all of the chakra control exercises on the scroll the hokage gave her, however she still practiced them everyday. Her chakra reserves were the size an upper level chuunin/lower level jounin would possess. Her taijutsu style of Senkou Kabushi was nearly impossible to beat, she had mastered the basics and was in the process of mastering the basics. Even though she was wearing 50 pounds on each limb, she was still faster than most of her classmates by leaps and bounds. She was smart, but slacked off on most of the tests, usually getting an average score. She had nearly perfect aim as well, although her fans were still her favorite weapons. She was even able to incorporate them into her taijutsu style to maximize it's effectiveness. Uzumaki Naru was the top kunoichi in the class and the number one favorite for the title of Kunoichi of the Year.

She had also befriended her sensei, Maito Gai's genin team. Higurashi Tenten, who was last years kunoichi of the year, Hyuuga Neji, who was last years rookie of the year, and Rock Lee, who could not perform ninjutsu or genjutsu, but showed potential for taijutsu. She trained with him early in the morning, and for the last hour would practice her Senkou Kabushi ryu while he practiced the Kurogane Kabushi, or Iron Fist, style, which was the style Gai used himself.

She had also gained something outside of her skills as a ninja, a fan club, one to rival that of Uchiha Sasuke's. Naru had been developing into quite the beautiful young lady. She still dressed the same, save for she had kind of utility belt now. Her weapons pouch was attached to the belt, but there were also holsters on each side where she kept her fans. She had the belt specially made so she could grab her fans easily. Her hair had gotten longer, the pony tail now reached down to her lower back, and when she wore i down it fell down past her butt.

'' Okay class, we're gonna review the three jutsu needed to pass the graduation exam today. You'll need to be able to successfully perform the henge no jutsu, kawarimi no jutsu, and the bunshin no jutsu.'' Naru raised her hand. '' Iruka sensei, does it matter what kind of bunshin we perform? '' she asked. Iruka looked puzzled, '' what do you mean? just the normal bunshin would be fine.'' Naru rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, '' well, uh, I have trouble with a normal bunshin, they always come out dead looking, but I can do a kage bunshin, in fact I can create a lot of them.'' Iruka looked shocked before he composed himself, '' uh, yeah... you can do that instead... now, I'll call you by alphabetical order to practice the jutsu. will Akimichi Chouji please come down.''

A few hours passed before naru was called, and she performed the three jutsu flawlessly, and Iruka gaped at the 10 kage bunshins that stood in front of him. '' How many can you make?'' naru thought for a moment, '' Around 150, any more than that and I get too tired to hold the jutsu, it said in the notes on the scroll I learned it from however, that as I build up my reserves I'll be able to make more. Did you know the Yondaime hokage could create 1000 kage bunshin and use them in a fight.'' Iruka gaped again,'' well, he was a great man.'' Naru nodded and went back to her seat. Uchiha Sasuke scowled, he had only created 5 and they were normal bunshin. ' how is she so powerful? I have to be stronger so I can defeat Itachi!' he brooded.

Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino among other girls were still Sasuke fan girls and weren't very interested in their careers. At least the boys of Naru's fan club trained. They thought that the strongest one would ' win the hart of Naru!' so they trained them selves to be the best.

Finally it was test day. They had to complete a written exam, a jutsu exam, and a target practice exam. Naru tried on this test and was sure she got nearly every answer correct. She was able to perform the three jutsu, and for a bonus performed one of her favorites, the fuuton: koku kaze no jutsu, which she was very proficient in. Each wind blade was 100 times sharper than the finest kunai and was at least three feet in length. She also hit all 10 targets on the training dummies solidifying her stop as kunoichi of the year.

Uchiha Sasuke had a similar score. He too got nearly every answer right and performed the three jutsu, plus a bonus, gokakyuu no jutsu. He also hit every target, making him rookie of the year. Even though it had not been announced formally, everyone knew that the two had the spots.

the next day found all of the students who passed in their usual seats in the classroom. Iruka came in and gave his speech about responsibility, which Naru conveniently tuned out. She snapped back to attention when Iruka announced the kunoichi and rookie of the year. The spots, of coarse, went to Naru and Sasuke. Then he proceeded to read out the teams.

'' Team seven: Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naru, and Uchiha Sasuke'' Iruka said, '' your jounin instructor is Hatake Kakashi. Team eight is Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba, your jounin instructor is Yuuhi Kurenai. Team nine is currently in service, team ten is Akimichi Chouji, Nara Shikamaru, and Yamanaka Ino. your jounin sensei is Sarutobi Asuma.''

'' IN YOUR FACE INO PIG! LOVE PREVAILS! I'M ON A TEAM WITH SASUKE-KUN!'' Sakura yelled. Ino just sulked, '' why do I have to be on a team with the lazy boy and human boulder?'' she whined.

Naru scowled, '' Hey Sakura, you're a kunoichi now, so you should BE QUIET'' she growled. ' why, why did I get a stupid fan girl?' she groaned mentally.

It had been roughly 3 hours and their sensei had yet to arrive. Naru had been practicing her chakra control, but after the first hour that became beyond boring. '' Man, this is totally my FAVORITE thing to do. Sitting in a classroom for hours one end with nothing to do, yeah, its amazing.'' naru said sarcastically.

About an hour later their sensei finally made it to their room. He walked in and everyone looked at him. '' yo'' he said nonchalantly. '' YOUR LATE!'' Sakura yelled. '' I give up.'' Naru groaned, '' she'll never be quiet.'' Sasuke just 'hnd'. Kakashi sweat dropped, '' meet me on the roof.'' he sad as he poofed away.

A couple minuets later everyone was on the roof. '' Okay, why don't you guys introduce yourselves. Give your likes,dislikes, hobbies, dreams ect. I'm Hatake Kakashi, and thats all you need to know. Alright, you pinky. '' she said.

Sakura huffed at being called pinky. '' I'm Haruno Sakura. I like, well the _boy_ I like is...'' she looked at sasuke. '' My hobbies are...'' she giggled, '' My dream for the future..'' she broke off into a fit of giggles. '' Uh, is there anything you don't like?'' kakashi sweat dropped. '' NARU! and ino pig.'' she huffed. ' great, a fan girl.' '' You know, Sakura, shinobi specialize in being _quiet_, you know you are quite loud, don't you?'' he said. '' Don't bother, I've been telling her that for years.'' naru said.

'' well, why don't you go next blondie.'' Kakashi said. Naru waved off the blonde comment, ' I like my hair' she smiled inwardly. '' I am Uzumaki Naru. I like training and learning new jutsu from the scrolls in my tou-sans old library. I also like training with Gai sensei and lee, I don't like fan girls or fan boys, or girls who don't take their job as a kunoichi seriously, I also dislike loud pink haired banshee's. My hobbies would be training and ramen, ojiji showed me the stuff and man is it good. My dream for the future is to be an ANBU captain and eventually the hokage.''

Kakashi almost had a heart attack, '' you trained with Gai? and your Normal?! how often?'' Naru smirked, '' I've trained with him for three hours every morning for the past five years, he's been helping me increase my speed and strength so I can utilize my family taijutsu,since my family isn't around to help me. He also got me my weights, currently at fifty on each limb.'' Kakashi was impressed, '' whats your family style?'' Naru thought it overand decided it was alright for him to know, '' Senkou Kabushi,'' Kakashi's right eye widened with recognition. Before he could say anything, Naru cut him off.''I know, ask the hokage for the details, I'm not exactly at liberty to tell without his permission, but I figured it would be alright since you're my sensei.''

'' okay, well, now I guess is the best time to tell you this, tomorrow is the real test to determine weather or not you are going to become genin. It's a survival test with a sixty six percent failure rate. Meet me at the training grounds at eight in the morning, but don't eat breakfast, or you'll puke. ja ne, oh, naru, lets go see the hokage.''

'' hai.'' naru replied, and the two went to the Hokage tower.


	2. Chapter 2

**VOTE: SHOULD NARU BE WITH SASUKE OR NEJI? VOTE VIA REVIEWS **

Sarutobi explained everything to Kakashi. '' Why did you tell everyone that she had died? I would have taken care of her.'' kakashi was slightly angry, she was his sensei's daughter after all.

'' It had to be kept a secret, and I know that I can trust you, but if news got out to the stone that she had survived, it would have been bad. Also, Naru is a very hard working girl, she has become the young woman she is today because of her hard child hood. She takes nothing for granted, and is a great deal stronger than most of the kids her age. It may not have been the best decision, but it was the best one I could make at the time. ''

Kakashi seemed to be okay with his answer, although he was still a tad bit angry. They talked for a while longer before he had to go get things ready for their genin test tomorrow.

' so Naru is sensei's daughter...' he mused as he made his way back to his apartment, ' I wonder if she has both of the kekkei genkai or just one... I'll test their elemental affinities after the bell test.' As soon as he got home he picked up his newest edition of Icha Icha Paradise and started to read.

Naru woke up at the normal time, 4:30 A.M. and got ready for the day. She made it to the training grounds at around 5:00, where she met Gai and Lee. Lee and Naru were wearing the same amount of weights now, Lee just having been moved up. Naru was still getting used to the weight. They did their morning run and other warm ups, then moved on to the actual taijutsu training itself. Gai went over the next Kata in the scroll with Naru and left her to her own devices. She was still working on a few other's below it, but she could practice those at home along with the one she is learning. Lee was learning how to open the celestial gates. Naru was amazed at the sheer power radiating off of her sensei when he demonstrated the opening, but quickly composed herself and got back to work. At 7:45 she left to meet her team at their training grounds.

She practiced her chakra control as she waited for her sensei. Roughly three hours later, he _finally _arrived. Naru just huffed, ' honestly, what kind of habits is he trying to teach us. hm?' Sakura on the other and, had a more, hands on approach. '' SENSEI! YOU'RE LATE!'' she screeched. Sasuke was indifferent.

'' Okay guys, your objective,'' he said as he reached into his pocket, '' is to get one of these two bells from me before this timer goes off.'' he instructed them as he pulled a timer out of seemingly thin air. (hahah... timer no jutsu...haha just kidding) '' If you don't come at me with the intent to kill, you will have no hope of getting a bell.''

Sakura gasped, '' But sensei, we could hurt you!'' Kakashi rolled his eye, '' I'm a jounin, I seriously doubt any of you will get a shot in.'' he laughed.

' Somethings not right here... all genin teams have three members... why would they change that now? There's something to this test, and I'm going to figure out what it is.' Naru said as she prepared herself. '' Ready? Begin!'' he yelled. Sakura and Sasuke dove into the bushes, but Naru stayed where she was, '' Sensei, there's something your not telling us.'' she said.

Kakashi smiled. ' she's pretty bright.' he thought to himself. '' Look underneath the underneath Naru, and you'll figure it out.'' Naru grumbled and leaped into the surrounding greenery. ' underneath the underneath huh.' She thought to herself. ' The test is pitting us against one another, but in a real life situation, we would not be working against each other, but with each other... THATS IT! teamwork! the test is teamwork... I've gotta find the others.' She nearly squeaked in happiness at her discovery. She found Sasuke first.

'' Oi, Sasuke...'' she whispered. He turned around and noticed Naru behind him. '' What do you want?'' Naru brushed off the comment and continued with her discovery, '' just listen teme, before I leaped off into the greenery I talked to Kakashi sensei, he said to look underneath the underneath, so I thought about it and discovered the true meaning of this test, it's team work. Genin teams always consist of three members, it would make no sense to knock one person off, so if we work together we'll all pass regardless, and if not, then we'll just keep the bells and Sakura will fail.'' she explained. Sasuke thought it over and decided it made sense.

'' Do you have a plan?'' Sasuke asked. Naru nodded and began to voice her plan.

Sasuke groaned, '' do we really have to include Sakura?'' Naru nodded, '' if not then it won't really be team work, thats okay thought, even if she messes her part up, it'll still work. Me and you will be doing most of the work, she's just bait.'' She smiled sadistically, '' maybe this'll teach her to take her job as a kunoichi seriously.'' The two took off through the woods to find Sakura.

However, a certain silver haired jounin managed to find her first. '' Sakura.'' he said, she turned around and saw sasuke, near death, shurikan and kunai sticking out from his body at odd angles. Not being in the state of mind to determine weather it was a genjutsu or not, she did the thing any honorable fan girl would do, she screamed, then fainted. Kakashi sighed, ' thats.. pathetic.' he thought as he retreated into the forest to find the other two genin hopefuls.

When Naru and Sasuke came across Sakura, they found her passed out in the middle of a clearing. Naru shook her head, '' looks like she's caught in a genjutsu.'' She said as she reached down and pushed some chakra into Sakura. She woke up with a snap and started looking around.

'' SAS-mhphhpphp'' she tried to yell, '' Are you stupid? we're doing a survival test, don't give away our location'' Naru hissed as she held her hand over Sakura's mouth. '' The teme and I have figured out the true meaning of this test, its team work. Now we have a plan on how to get the bells, listen closely because your part will make or break the plan so you better not skrew it up!'' She told Sakura her part of the plan and the three headed out to find their sensei. Sakura started telling her off for calling her Sasuke-kun a teme, but decided against it when Naru glared at her.

Sakura wandered out into the clearing and started calling Sasuke's name. Of coarse, Kakashi knew where the other two were, even though they concealed their chakra well, it wasn't enough to get by his senses, but he decided to play along. So, being the good sport he is, he decided to answer their calls and confront Sakura.

Sakura saw him and turned around, pretending to be frightened. '' Ka..Kakashi sensei... '' she trailed off as she threw a few shurikan at him. ' thats the que' Sasuke and Naru thought as the shurikan landed in the tree next to them. They moved to their position and started their required seals.

''Katon: Gokakyuu no jutsu!'' Sasuke yelled and breathed a large ball of fire.

'' Fuuton: Diotoppa no jutsu!'' Naru yelled and breathed out a large bullet of wind.

When the two jutsu combined, they became a larger, hotter mass of white flames. Kakashi jumped out of the way, but was astonished. ' they combined their jutsu? That level of thinking for two fresh out of the academy genin is unbelievable.' he thought. Naru and Sasuke jumped out of the tree and landed in front of Kakashi. Naru released her weights and fell into an upper intermediate stance of the Senkou Kabushi. Sasuke fell into the stance for the Uchiha Taijutsu, Houka Kabushi, or fire fist. Sakura took up an academy taijutsu stance from behind. The three charged in at once. Naru arrived first and began a relentless assault of punches and kicks, all flowing together with great speed. It was by no means the fastest in the style, but the intermediate kata's require a speed most people never achieve in their life time, and Naru was almost at that level of speed. Soon after, Sasuke entered the brawl. The Uchiha taijutsu style was nothing to scoff at either. He found that fighting the two of them was rather difficult and could do nothing when he noticed Sakura come in and steal the bells. The timer went off just as Sakura grabbed them.

Naru and Sasuke backed off and Kakashi smiled. '' You all pass. As of now, you are genin. You understood the meaning of this test and were able to successfully steal the bells from me. Remember, team work is the most important aspect of shinobi life. those who disregard the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash. We will begin missions tomorrow, meet here at the same time tomorrow. dismissed.'' He said as he pulled out his Icha Icha Paradise and poofed away. Naru decided to make a trip to the see the Hokage.

Sakura was happy she passed, but still felt useless to the team. All she had been good for was being a distraction and grabbing the bells. She decided that she would not hold the team down, she would not hold them back. ' I am going to be the best kunoichi I can be, if I'm strong, I'll be able to help my team mates, along with capture Sasuke-kun's heart.' She told herself. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she needed to be strong to get his attention.

When Naruarrived, she walked passed Kakashi who was coming out of the hokage's office. '' Oh, hi Kakashi sensei!'' she said as he walked by. '' yo'' he said before poofing away.

She knocked,then walked in like she normally does. '' hey ojiji, guess what? your looking at one of the newest genin in konoha.'' she said proudly. Sarutobi smiled, '' I heard, apparently you and Sasuke are quite the team. I'm happy for you and your team. But remember, this is the real thing now. People will be depending on you to get the job done, and get it one right. ''

The next day, after the team did their D rank missions, Kakashi took them to the training grounds to decided what elemental affinities each of them possessed. '' These pieces of paper will indicate which elemental affinity you possess. I want each of you to take a piece and channel your chakra into it. '' The three of them took a piece. Sasuke channeled his first. Half the paper burned while the other half crumpled. '' As I suspected. Like most Uchiha, you're affinities are fire and lightning.'' Kakashi smiled. Sakura channeled hers next. The paper became wet and started to glow green. '' Ooh, thats rare. You have water and medical affinities. You will the medic nin of this team, after you finish group training, I want you to report to the hospital and get yourself a teacher. Medical shinobi are very rare, and a great asset to a team.'' Sakura beamed. ' I won't be useless.' she thought happily. Naru channeled hers last, a bit reluctant to expose her kekkei genkai. When she channeled her chakra, the paper split, one fourth of it burned, while another fourth of it decomposed, another fourth crumpled, and the last fourth became wet. '' Just as I suspected, you have your mothers kekkei genkai. Do you use all five yet?'' he asked. She nodded her head, '' I can use three katon, two fuuton, one doton, one raiton, and two suiton jutsu. I have mastered the kage bunshin, fuuton: koku kaze no jutsu, fuuton: Diotoppano jutsu, Katon: Gokakyuu no jutsu, and the Suiton: mizu tama no jutsu. I'm perfecting the Katon: karyuuendan no jutsu, Katon: housenka no jutsu, Suiton: suriyuudan no jutsu, doton: naiteki funkei no jutsu, and the raiton: dendou shingai no jutsu.'' She said. Kakashi was impressed, '' ten jutsu is quite the arsenal.'' he said, '' Okay, I'll teach each of you a new jutsu, or help perfecting any of your current jutsu.''

They practiced for the rest of the day. Sakura learned the suiton: mizu tama no jutsu and Sasuke learned the Katon: housenka no jutsu. Kakashi helped Naru to perfect her Raiton: dendou shingai no jutsu, and by the end of the training they were all completely worn out.

Two weeks later, the team had performed 32 D rank missions along with their training. Their training consisted of chakra control exercises, ninjutsu, and taijutsu. They hadn't started learning genjutsu yet. Naru had perfected every jutsu in her arsenal, along with learning a few new jutsu, the Katon: kasai kaihou and the doton: doryuuheki. She had also started learning the first advanced kata for the Senkou Kabushi. Gai had also upped her weights to fifty five pounds per limb. Sakura had learned a few suiton jutsu, the suiton: suriyuudan no jutsu and the suiton: mizu kaihou. She also learned some basic healing jutsu and was able to heal flesh wounds up to three inches deep. She also had a basic understanding of poisons and human anatomy. Sakura had also started learning how to use chakra scalpels. Although she couldn't use them on patients yet, one of the medical nins at the hospital gave her a scroll for a taijutsu style that utilizes them. It was a variation of the Hyuuga's jyuuken style, however you needed to have a medics knowledge of anatomy to know where to strike. Sasuke learned a few new Katon jutsu as well. He learned the Katon: karyuuendan and the Katon: kasai kaihou, he also started learning the advanced kata for the Uchiha taijutsu style. Along with their individual jutsu, Kakashi taught them all the shunshin, or ' poof no jutsu'. They were very thankful for it too. The team was really flourishing, and Kakashi was pleased with their results.

They were currently in the hokage tower being assigned another mission. '' Hm.. how about dog walking and baby sitting?'' Sarutobi asked.

'' aw.. ojiji.. come on we've done so many D rank. technically we've fulfilled the requirements for a C rank.'' Naru whined. Iruka was about to reprimand them, but Sarutobi cut him off. '' Kakashi, what do you think? are they ready?''

'' they are more than ready hokage sama, I believe a C rank will be just fine.''

Sarutobi nodded, '' alright, Tazuna, you may come in.'' An old man with a bottle of Sake in his hand stumbled into the room. '' These are the brats protecting me? Look at 'em, especially the small blonde one, she looks like she couldn't hurt a fly. hahahaha.'' he said. Before he had time to react, Naru was standing behind him with a kunai poking his back, '' I don't have to look strong to be strong, physical build is not a shinobi's only means of strength, besides, shinobi deal in deception, if you were an enemy you have already been dead.'' she said in a sickly sweet voice as she put her kunai back into her pouch and calmly walked back to her team. Tazuna was frozen, ' I didn't even see her move.' tazuna thought. Sarutobi and Kakashi were chuckling slightly. '' Alright, you have one hour to prepare yourselves, meet at the northern gates or we're leaving without you.'' Kakashi said as he poofed away. The three remaining nodded towards the hokage and poofed away as well.

Naru arrived at the gate first. She had packed a weeks worth of cloths, two weeks of food, and all of her weapons, including her fans. Sasuke showed up second, followed by Sakura. They had decided that Sakura would pack all the medical for their missions since she was the medic. In return, Naru and Sasuke each packed extra food to share with her. Kakashi and Tazuna showed up at the same time and they all headed out. The first few hours were uneventful until the group walked passed two puddles.

'' Hey sensei, look, two puddles.'' Naru said, '' watch this!'' she took out two kunai and threw them into the puddles, the water started to run red as two kiri chuunin appeared, each with a kunai in their arm. They wrapped their chains around Kakashi and pulled him apart.

'' One down, three to go.'' One of them said as they made their way toward the genin. Sakura pulled out a kunai and stood in front of Tazuna. Sasuke and Naru each went after an opponent.

'' Fuuton: koku kaze no jutsu!'' Naru yelled as she moved her fans through the air, sending the six razor like gusts of wind at her opponent, slicing him to pieces. Sasuke used a gokakuyuu no jutsu and fried his opponent, he was alive enough for kakashi, who strolled out of the woods scaring Sakura and Tazuna half to death, to get some information out of him before the chuunin died from his burns.

'' But, Kakashi-sensei, they killed you!'' exclaimed Sakura. Kakashi chuckled, '' No, they killed a log. Do you have so little faith in me?'' He put his hand over his heart in mock hurt. Hit composure turned serious in a moment when he turned to the bridge builder.

'' Tazuna, you have some explaining to do. Why are there missing nin after you?'' Kakashi asked. Tazuna told them about the Wave country and Gato, and by the end of it, team seven decided to stay on the mission, that was now a B rank, or even an A. The team was on their guard the rest of the trip home, and once they crossed the river into the wave, the real fight began.

'' GET DOWN!'' Kakashi yelled. Everyone dropped, Sasuke took care of Tazuna. Just as they went down a giant sword flew over the tops of their heads. ' Too close' naru thought as a couple strands of hair floated down in front of her face. They all stood back up when they saw the figure on top of his sword.

'' Ah, Copy nin Kakashi, no wonder the demon brothers failed. '' He laughed. Kakashi scowled, '' Momochi Zabuza huh. You guys stay back and protect Tazuna, this guys is out of our league.''

'' hai'' they all chorused as they took up defensive stances.

Naru and Sasuke gasped when they saw him lift up his hite-ate to reveal... a Sharingan eye? ' How does sensei have the Sharingan? Is he related to the teme over here?'' Naru thought as she looked at Sasuke. Said teme was having similar thoughts.

'' Ha, you think those little wanna be shinobi could possibly protect him if I really wanted him dead?... Kirigakure no jutsu'' He appeared between the three genin and tazuna and started to laugh. Just before he could cut off Naru's head however, Kakashi made it in time to block him and stab the mizu bunshin. '' Gotcha'' Zabuza said, but when he stabbed Kakashi he too turned into a mizu bunshin. ' He copied my jutsu in this mist?!' He thought. They traded off bunshin for bunshin until Zabuza hit the real Kakashi and sent him flying onto the water.

'' perfect.'' he said as he landed on the water next to Kakashi. '' suiton: senru no jutsu'' he said as a swirling prison of water took shape around Kakashi. '' GET OUT OF HERE NOW YOU THREE!'' Kakashi yelled.

'' Sorry sensei, but we can't do that, he'll just kill us anyway, our only chance is to get you out. Besides, I'm not trash, I don't abandon my comrades. '' Naru said, the other two nodded.

Naru started toward the edge of the water and pulled out her fans, she performed the seals, opened her fans, and announced her jutsu. '' fuuton: koku kaze no jutsu!'' The six blades of wind were heading straight for Zabuza, but before they could hit, his mizu bunshin got in the way. '' Kuso, Sasuke, can you keep the mizu bunshin busy? I'm gonna try for the real body again. '' she whispered as they regrouped.

Again, Naru made her way towards shore, with Sasuke this time. True to his word, he kept the four mizu bunshin occupied, and Naru's wind did what she wanted it to do, freed Kakashi. Zabuza got a few nasty cuts, but managed to dodged the sharpest parts of the blades.

'' Thats a pretty dangerous attack little girl.'' Zabuza growled.

'' Only for you.'' She sneered, '' Good luck Kakashi-sensei'' she said as he punched Zabuza across the face. '' Lets finish this Zabuza.'' Kakashi growled.

The two got into a battle of ninjutsu, but Kakashi was able to hypnotize him and finished the hand seals faster, causing a giant wave of water to wash Zabuza away and into a tree. Just before Kakashi made the kill, three sedbon needles shot into Zabuza's neck. '' I thank you, we have been hunting him for some time.'' The hunter nin said as he stepped out into the open. She picked Zabuza's body up and disappeared in a swirl of wind.

'' Sensei, that hunter nin was a fake, he should have cut the head off right here.'' Naru said as. Kakashi nodded his head, then fell down unconscious. Naru made a few shadow clones and picked up their sensei. '' My house is about three miles from here, you can rest when we get there.''

When Kakashi woke up later that night, he groaned. His team looked over at him and Naru frowned, '' That Sharingan eye you have, you weren't born with it were you. I read about it in a scroll from my tou-sans library, and it said an Uchiha can use the Sharingan for an entire day and be okay, depending on how large or small their reserves are, but for a person who has the eye transplanted, it eats a lot of chakra.'' She said.

Kakashi sat up after a while and groaned again. '' This eye, was a gift from my old team mate. As he lied on his deathbed during the war, he told my other team mate to transplant his eye into my left socket since my original left eye as destroyed. I can only use it for a small amount of time because it eats my chakra, thats why I keep my head band over it. I don't have the ability to turn it off, but when it's covered it doesn't use any chakra.'' Kakashi explained.

'' Who gave you that eye?'' Sasuke spoke up for the first time that night. Kakashi looked at him, '' Uchiha Obito.'' He answered.

A young lady walked in after Kakashi had explained his eye, '' Hello, I am Tsunami, thank you for helping my father home, we really appreciate it.'' They nodded, and Naru left to help make dinner.

The next day, Kakashi was able to walk with the help of a crutch. He decided to train his team for the upcoming fight with Zabuza and the Mysterious hunter nin. '' Okay, I want you all to run 10 laps around this clearing.'' Kakashi ordered. The clearing they were standing in was a good fifty feet wide and about half a mile around. There was a hill on one side to challenge them a little. The clearing was a little ways into the forest, about a ten minuet walk from Tazuna's house, 3 minuets if they ran at top speed. Naru almost laughed when Kakashi said this, ' 5 miles? Gai-sense makes me run nearly four times that amount when we train.' She smirked inwardly as her team mates looked less than happy. Sakura out right groaned, while Sasuke, the 'ever stoic Uchiha teme', frowned deeper than usual. They took off running. Naru finished first in just under 15 minuets. Followed by Sasuke at 25 and Sakura at 30. Even more amazing than the short amount of time she ran it it, Kakashi noticed that she was barely winded. His amazement died however when he remembered that she trained with Gai. '' Naru, how many miles to you usually run with Gai?'' Naru thought, '' Well, we run around Konoha a few times, I'd say 20 to 30 miles a morning, he's a real slave driver.'' She said. The three sweat dropped, '' Slave driver isn't the right word.'' Kakashi mumbled as he started reading again, '' Work on your tai jutsu.''

'' Hai'' the three said. Naru got to work right away. Sasuke and Sakura started after picking themselves up off the ground. Later that night they all sat around the table talking and laughing, until a small seven year old boy stood up and started yelling angrily.

'' Why do you even try? No one can stand up to Gato! All this training, it's useless, your all going to die.'' He said as he looked at the three Konoha shinobi.

'' You can believe what you want to kid, but I am not going to give up so easily.'' Naru said as she looked him in the eye. The young boy scoffed.

'' And what would you know? You live in Konoha! You were probably raised in a care free environment, have a mother and father to come home to every day, a nice warm meal every night. You know nothing of the suffering we have to endure here! You have no idea what suffering even is!''

That was the last straw for Naru, '' Listen here you little brat, stop whining like some sorry little victim, if you don't like the way things are going in your life than change it. Thats what I did. And your wrong about me. I don't have a family. My parents died when I was born. For four years, I lived in an orphanage where they didn't feed me for days at a time, then I was kicked out, left to fend for myself. I had to scrounge for money to buy food, unless the hokage gave me something to eat, I was called a demon everyday for something that was out of my control, I was chased and beaten by the very villagers I have sworn to protect because I WILL earn their respect, My life has only recently turned around and I remember every detail of the poor life I once lived, but instead of wallowing in my pity I changed my fate. '' she threw him one more dirty look, stood up, and walked out of the house.

The young boy was stunned, he shook his head, got up, and ran upstairs. '' Inari?!'' Yelled Tsunami. '' I apologize for his behavior, but, is what that young girl said true?'' She asked. Kakashi nodded his head, to the shock of not only Tsunami, but Sasuke and Sakura as well. '' I am not at liberty to go into the details, but Naru is a special girl. She has protected our village since she was born, but most are too stubborn to realize that fact. Many people see her as an evil being, instead of the hero she really is. It doesn't make much sense unless you know the details, but like I said, I am not at liberty to say, and I would rather not be executed for treason.'' They nodded, Sakura looked at Kakashi sadly, '' She always seems so happy, how?'' Kakashi smiled, '' She found precious people, and learning about her parents helped her to understand. She has the hokage,Iruka, Gai and his students, her friends from the academy, and you two, along with me and others in the village. We are her friends, and she would die to protect us, just like I hope you would for her.''

Naru was in the clearing of the forest beating the snot out of a tree trunk. She was angry, angry at the boy for giving up, and angry at herself for letting her anger get the better of her. She stayed out there, punching and kicking with lightning speed until she finally collapsed from exhaustion, falling asleep where she fell.

She was awoken by a presence. When she opened her eyes, she saw a person sitting a few feet away from her, watching her carefully. '' Uh, hi.'' Naru said, '' I am Uzumaki Naru, and you are?''

'' I am Haku.'' The girl laughed, '' it is nice to meet you, but what are you doing out here, you'll catch a cold if you sleep out here in those cloths. '' She smiled, but inwardly she frowned, ' She is the person who injured Zabuza, I should kill her, but something is holding me back...' She thought. Naru sighed, ' She's right, I'm REALLY cold ' she thought to herself, '' I uh, had a long night.'' She answered. '' What are you doing?''

'' Collecting medicinal herbs.'' Haku answered. '' One of my friends was injured recently.'' Naru nodded.

'' Do you mind if i help?'' She asked. Haku smiled, '' sure, you are a kunoichi, are you not?''

Naru smiled, '' yep, I am. I am training for a fight, last time we fought this person my sensei and my team mates could have been killed. I have to get stronger, to protect them, and everyone in this village. '' Naru said. Haku smiled, '' do you have any precious people?''

Naru nodded, '' yes, I do, and I will protect them.''

Haku nodded, '' You can only be truly strong when you are protecting those precious to you, but I have to go and help my precious person, I hope to meet you again some time.'' Naru waved and left to return to Tazuna's house.

A week later

Team seven was on guard duty again, but on high alert. According to Kakashi, Zabuza would more than likely be well enough to fight again today. They had all of their senses extended to their farthest reach. Nearly two hours after they arrived, the party started.

A thick mist spread onto the bridge and two lone figures could be see walking. '' So you've come.'' Kakashi yelled out. '' I have, and today, you die.'' Zabuza said as he stopped. Naru used a few low lever fuuton jutsu kakashi had taught her.

FLASHBACK- three days prior

'' Okay, we all know that Zabuza likes to use his kirigakure no jutsu. It makes it hard for me to use my Sharingan, and also hard for you three to fight. Naru, I am going to teach you a low leverl fuuton jutsu you can use to blow the mist away. It doesn't take up much chakra, so it won't hinder you in battle.

He taught her the jutsu and she mastered it quickly enough. ' this'll be useful' she thought.

END FLASHBACK

Naru smirked when the mist was gone after two waves of her fan. '' Well , it looks like you have someone to play with.'' Zabuza smirked as he looked down at his companion. '' I believe you are correct, Zabuza-sama.'' Haku lunged at Naru and two started a taijutsu battle. Naru was just a little bit faster than Haku was, so she was able to get more hits in. Haku jumped back and started forming hand seals, '' Hyuton: Demonic Ice Morrors'' and Naru found her self surrounded by mirrors made of ice. The image of Haku appeared in every mirror, then senbon needles started flying at her from every direction. ' I'll have to released my weights.' She thought as she made the ram seals. ''KAI!'' she yelled and her weights released themselves and dropped to the ground. She was able to move much faster and it helped her dodge the senbons. ' Okay, lets see how you like a little fire and wind.' She thought. She performed a few seals, '' Katon: Karyuu endan no jutsu!'' she yelled as a fire dragon shot out of her mouth, as soon as the dragon was released she pulled out her fans, sped through the familiar seals, and yelled, '' Fuuton: Koku Kaze no jutsu!'' When the two attacks met, they turned into white hot flames. To Haku's surprise, the ice mirrors started to melt. Four of the mirrors melted and Naru took her chance to escape. She ran with all the speed she had and made it outside of the mirrors as the rest of the jutsu collapsed. When she looked at the figure who stood in the middle of the fallen mirrors, she gasped.

Haku's masked had been melted and fell off of her face and Naru recognized her from when she met her early that week. '' Haku... so Zabuza was your friend who had been injured, ne?''

Haku nodded, '' I have failed Zabuza, you defeated my strongest attack, he will have no use for me. Please, kill me now, I am no longer needed.'' She said as she looked down. Naru was appalled, '' I will not fight you unless you pose a threat to my precious people.'' Naru said, '' I am sure Zabuza treasures you, he would be said if you were killed, you should think higher of yourself. ''

Haku was about to protest when they were interrupted by... birds? Yes, the sound of a thousand chirping birds could be hear and as Naru and Haku looked over, they could see Kakashi holding a lightening in his hand. Zabuza as smoking and burned from a katon jutsu Sasuke had just used. Now, large ninja hounds were holding onto Zabuza, fangs sinking into burnt flesh.

'' CHIDORI!'' Kakashi yelled as he ran toward Zabuza with blinding speed.

''NO!'' Haku yelled as she dove in front of Zabuza, taking the attack head on. '' I am.. sorry.. Zabu..za.'' she said as she slumped forward, Kakashi pulled his arm out of her chest as she fell to the ground, dead. Naru looked on and bit her lip, ' a fitting end for a splendid shinobi' She thought sadly. Just then, she heard laughing coming from the end of the bridge.

'' Well, what do you have here, aw, that little bitch is dead huh, well, you are all next.'' Gato laughed. Zabuza growled, '' well kakashi, it looks like we no longer have a reason to fight. '' Kakashi nodded. '' Hey kid,'' he said as he looked at Sakura, '' throw me a kunai.'' Sakura looked confused but threw one anyway. He caught it in his mouth since his arms were now useless. He charged toward Gato, taking out all of the thugs he had brought with him, when he finally reached Gato, he smirked, '' time to die''. Gato tried to run away, but Zabuza stabbed him in the head, then pushed him over the edge of the bride as 10 thugs stabbed him in the back.

Naru and Kakashi had also joined the fray, followed by Sasuke. Each of them killed nearly 15 thugs, the rest had run away when Inari showed up with the towns people. Kakashi walked over to Zabuza as he died, '' take me... cough.. to.. her...'' he said. Kakashi nodded and took him to his dead comrade. He said his last words, sweet words to his best friend before he too passed away. Team seven buried their bodies.

The bridge was finished a few days later, and the team was finally able to go home. After Kakashi gave the report, the team was paid for an A rank mission.

Naru went home and straight to her library. ' I wonder if I can open the scroll with my family jutsu yet.' she thought to herself as she went to the cupboard that contained the scroll. She smiled as the seal glowed blue and the scroll opened. ' yay! I get to learn tou-sans jutsu!' She smiled wider at the prospect.

She opened the scroll and looked at the jutsu, '' there's only two, but they are an A rank and an S rank... cool.. Rasengan and Hirashin no jutsu...'' She said out loud, '' well, I better take these outside and get to work.


End file.
